Notes: About 2 nd Samuel Lesson 10: Chps 10-15

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Lauren Payne
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1 1 Notes: About 2 nd Samuel Lesson 10: Chps Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight? 2 nd Samuel 12:9 2nd Samuel 11-Before the Fall: As king, David s duty was to lead his troops in battle. His brilliant military mind and his charismatic presence inspired his army. During the spring, the roads were passable and the farming cycle provided an early harvest of grains for the soldiers to eat. But that spring David had chosen to stay home--the scriptures say he tarried. He was not where he was supposed to be and he was not doing his duty his work. From the Garden of Eden times we see that having work to do is a curse but is also a blessing. Christ says, My father worketh hitherto and I work (John 5:17). Since David was not where he was supposed to be, and he was not doing his duty, he made himself vulnerable. David was restless that hot spring night, pacing he arose and walked and he saw Bathsheba and she was very beautiful to look upon. Many have blamed Bathsheba for bathing outside on her roof. We do not know, but we do know that kings at that time were all-powerful and everyone had to obey. And we know David was the one who made the choice to enquire about Bathsheba and was told she was married to Uriah, one of the elite mighty men who protected him from Saul. (1 Chronicles 11:41) And David chose to send for her. The scriptures then say he took he lay. A similar series of actions occurs with Eve explaining how she was beguiled. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it became pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired, she took of the fruit there of. (Moses 4:12.) Both falls show us a series of precipices that are dangerous but places where we can still step back before we sin. One woman in our group noted that at any of those (verbs) stages he could have stopped. Someone has said that the mark of a mature Christian is one who prays before temptation while a less mature Christian only prays after. Certainly seeing comes before we take. The New Testament says, For the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is of the world. (1 John 2:16) Advertisers know that they have an average of 3 seconds to make the viewer decide to buy. Stores love to get those catalogues in our houses where we can peruse them over and over. Internet gurus pay money to flash products online. Movie trailers make us want to check out that R-rated movie. The candy aisle at the check out stand is filled with treats called impulse items that we don t know we need until we see them. All are hoping we will see and then things will the lusts of our eyes. But between the state of seeing, desiring and actually taking before we are gripped by overshopping, coveting, pornography, gossiping, criticizing, envy, materialism there is always a moment when the Spirit of God gives a tiny check on our natural impulses, a slight warning to the heart or the mind to counteract the ever-active eyes. To mature in our walk with God we need to heed those soft restraints and notice how they work for us. As we become more and more responsive to the gentle enticings of the Holy Ghost and yield to God s will, we step back before we sin. Knowing our triggers and how we behave before we sin can help us grow up unto the Lord. (Helaman 3:21) 2 nd Samuel 12- The Wrong Cover for Sin: If you had told David a few days earlier that he would soon be an adulterer and a murderer, he would not have believed it. The legal consequence of David s sin was the death penalty, however he does not die physically for his sins at that time. But spiritual death does immediately enter the family line that God had covenanted would go on forever. David s cover up was worse than his initial sin. Pulling Uriah out from the battle he d ditched, David tried to get Uriah to go home, hoping the marital relations of Uriah and Bathsheba would cover up the pregnancy. But honorable Uriah had such a strong sense of duty he would not go home even when David got him drunk. Ironically this greatness of his soul made David desperate and eventually cost Uriah his life. It caused Joab to lie and put other men in harm s way so that Uriah would die. David s cover up struck the wives and families of the other Israelites who died

2 2 fighting with Uriah at the Rabbah city gate. The murder lifted God s protecting hand from David s family. It made David, the Commander-in-Chief, weak and hesitant, making the whole nation vulnerable. The child of the union was taken. Though Joab s clinical, coded reporting of the war s casualties made Uriah s death seem like one more casualty of war God knew. So the prophet Nathan came to tell David of the landowner with many lambs taking the one beloved lamb of the poor man. The story goes right to David s heart, and ironically he pronounces the very sentence he should have for himself: death. Nathan uses the story to make David see his own sins, and David, unlike Saul, feels great remorse and admits to his sins. He blames no one, he doesn t excuse himself saying he was under stress he says, I have sinned against the Lord. There are always consequences to sins but often they are not immediate or evident, and so we don t think of ourselves as sinners. After all, we tell ourselves we re not committing adultery or murder! Nevertheless, we, too, are quick to use cover ups for our sins. We feel the God-given pain of guilt over something we have done, but we quickly work around it. We can blame circumstances or blame others, and say, It s just my nature. Perhaps we get busy and don t think about it, until it fades, or we don t ever look critically at our own behavior. All of our tricks are really fig leaves man-made cover-ups; and often, as with David, the cover up is worse than the original transgression. When we cover up our transgressions, we bring death upon ourselves---spiritual death: because we are stuck in the consequences of sins we won t acknowledge and so can t get rid of. If we don t repent, we don t access the atonement. By going along believing our own rationalizations, our fig leaves makes us ineligible for the white robe of Christ s righteousness to cover us (2 Neph.4:33) We need to look at our sins and confess them as David did. What David needed was the real covering Kaphar, Hebrew meaning covering or atonement, just as we do. (See Lesson 8) Repentance: David s Psalm 51 is a model for us to use to in the hard work of repentance. He calls upon the God of mercy according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. He repents of sinning in general I acknowledge my transgressions but he does identify the specific sin as well. I have sinned, and done this evil in thy sight. He knows that God is a God of justice, that thou mightest be justified when thou judgeth. Although David knows he has hurt many others, he knows his sin is against God and he desperately wants to be returned to a relationship with Him. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. He pledges to serve God, noting that God does not want showy outward signs of devotion, but God wants a broken spirit, just like a mighty horse that is broken, and therefore usable by his master. Coming before God unthinkingly reciting the overused, general forgive us of our many sins and weaknesses is not repentance. We need to do the real work of prayer, thinking of our specific sins and life long tendencies and calling upon Him who can take our offering of a broken spirit and self will, and renew a right spirit within us. It is in mighty repentance that we embrace the great work of the atonement and make it efficacious in our lives. That is the moment when we really come face to face with God. We do not see the full cycle of God s restorative power in this lesson, but we know that the son given later to David and Bathsheba, Solomon, is the one who receives the kingship. He becomes the wisest man who has ever lived until his choices cause him too to fall. But the Lord s outpouring upon David is a lesson that we all must learn: He can restore fruitfulness to even the greatest sinner, but the consequences of sin still roll forward once we set them in motion with our choices. Nathan told David that the sword shall never depart from thy house, and because the world mocked and smirked at the man after god s own heart (as they do when any church leader falls) the Lord would publicly smite David by taking the life of his and Bathsheba s baby (which some feel was a blessing for the child). He said because David had secretly stolen Bathsheba from Uriah and taken her as his wife, the Lord would take thy wives and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house. (12:10-11) 2 nd Samuel 13- The Sword Never departs from David s house: These chapters mark a terrible tuning point in David s life. The rape of Tamar is the beginning of the consequences of David s sinful

3 3 choices. Amnon, the first son of David takes evil advice from his cousin, Jonadab, petitioning David to let Tamar bring food to his sickbed. When she does, Amnon rapes her. Tamar grieves, tears her robes and put ashes on her head proclaiming the great evil done against her. She knows she did not give her body to Amnon. He took it. Her brother Absalom wants her to be quiet about it. Today victims of rape, like Tamar, feel desolate. They feel doubly victimized as they are blamed for making it happen, or told to keep quiet. But the healing power of God can reach even to the depths of those who have been abused and raped. Many have emerged strong from this great evil done against them, and have had power given them to forgive and have moved forward. David did not take action against Amnon. The only reaction mentioned in the scriptures is that David was very wroth. His anger cost Amnon nothing however. As a father, and as a king he could have called for reparations from Amnon, he could have petitioned for a marriage, he could have banished Amnon. (Ex. 22:16, Deut. 22:28). Instead Tamar seeks refuge in the home of Absalom, her full brother. Absalom bides his time and two years later takes revenge on Amnon at his sheep shearing celebration. Absalom first petitions David to have Amnon come to the party. Absalom gets Amnon drunk and then kills him. After the murder, runners come back to David s palace and tell David that all this sons have been killed and David drops to the floor in mourning. Then Jonadab, who had started it all with his evil counsel, comes with the news to David that only Amnon is dead and that Absalom had fled. Absalom was the grandson of the king of Geshur, and he went there. 2 nd Samuel 14-Reconciliation with Absalom: After three years David still longs for Absalom, but does not call him home from his exile in Geshur, his mother s country. Joab, seeing the king s longing for his son, has the woman of Tekoa tell David a story that touches him emotionally and results in bringing Absalom back to his house in Jerusalem. The king still refuses to see him in person however. Absalom tries repeatedly to get Joab to act as a messenger for him, but Joab ignores him. Finally Absalom burns Joab s fields to get his attention, demanding that Joab arrange for Absalom to be reunited with the King. (What a selfish brat!) Joab does this and the king calls for his son and kisses him. Apparently all is now well. Except that Absalom, for all his handsome charm, has a treacherous heart and is filled with bitter resentment toward his father over what happened to his sister (he names his own daughter, born during this time, after her). This bitterness takes over. Always proud, he does not seem to have the least bit of the love for God that David, his father, had. David s sons ultimately did exactly as they wished. David seemed powerless before his own children. Part of the problem may have been that David was too lenient with his sons a lesson we need to think about. It may easily be seen that a hard life, herding sheep all alone in the backcountry, produced a better man than growing up as a spoiled prince in a palace. Do we make life too easy for our children? David may also have also felt he was no longer respected by his sons. They had seen in him a man who could not control his passions. Sin makes us weak. No one knew better than David that he needed God to make him strong. He may have no longer felt he had the moral authority needed to discipline his children, regarding their misdeeds as his just punishment. 2 nd Samuel 15- Absalom moves to usurp the throne: With the first heir to the throne dead (Amnon) Absalom began currying favor with the people of Israel at the city gates where business was often done. When the people went to court, there was Absalom talking to them as they stood in line. He charmed them, telling them he would make judgments in their favor if he were king, and made campaign promises to take care of them. He was also beautiful. Then, as now, people were taken with the beautiful people. Movie stars and celebrities have great sway over the fashions, beliefs, politics and purchases of people, especially the young. Because some celebrity wears a certain label or champions a given cause, many women want to copy them. A seasoned interviewer once commented that he had interviewed and followed the lives of movie celebrities for years and never had seen a group of people more unhappy and messed up. As women of God we need to be aware of not

4 4 worshipping such false idols and warn our children not to be fooled by leaders or actors who charm us with their glamorous lifestyles, beauty (often thanks to plastic surgery) or great charisma. A Tragic Procession: In order to leave Jerusalem and assemble his forces for a coup against his father, Absalom lies that he has made a vow to sacrifice in Hebron. David grants him leave to go. Once in Hebron Absalom sends spies among all the tribes, telling them that when they hear the ram s horn sound, Absalom has been crowned king in Hebron. Many join with this movement in their simplicity, and they knew not any thing. (15:11) So there were many who assumed this was a legitimate passage of power, since Absalom was the eldest and presumed heir to the throne. Joining with Absalom was Ahithophel, David s senior counselor (and Bathsheba s grandfather perhaps nursing an old grudge against the man who shamed his granddaughter). Absalom waits until his army has grown in size and then marches toward Jerusalem. When news reaches David that the hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom, and that they are marching on Jerusalem with an army, David decides to leave so that the city will be spared. He wishes to keep himself and those loyal to him from being slaughtered in the usual power play that follows a coup. His faithful servants declare their resolve to go with him. If he is to fight he needs time to prepare. So David, all his servants, the high priests, Levites and the ark all depart for the wilderness. He only leaves behind ten concubines to care for the house. At the last moment David sends back the priests and the ark to Jerusalem. He felt it was presumptuous to take the ark from its place and decides to leave his fate completely in the hands of God, saying If I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me again but if He say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let Him do to me as seemeth good unto Him. (15:26) He puts the outcome in God s hands, knowing that because of his past sins, he cannot presume upon the Lord s help. It is a much-matured King David who leaves the royal city he established all those years ago, mourning and weeping at this sorrowful turn of events. One bright spot is the allegiance of friends like Ittai the Gittite, who is from the Philistine city of Gath. Though he has no need to put himself in jeopardy by supporting David openly, he does so in a beautiful declaration: As the Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be. (15:21) David, though down, is not hopeless. He is still a wise leader. Though he does not know for certain what is ahead of him, and though he is willing to submit himself to the will of God, still it doesn t hurt to take precautions and make plans for recovery. This is a powerful example. Sometimes when we have serious reverses, we just plain give up. But even in the midst of the most terrible circumstance his beloved son stealing the hearts of his countrymen from him and coming with an army to defeat him David makes positive plans for a future that may turn in his direction if he acts wisely. So should we always have faith and hope and plan for good things in the future. When we are sure there is no hope, there is none, for we have guaranteed that outcome by our negative faith. David tells the priests to act as spies and use their sons to relay word to him about Absalom. In fact, he does this in a clever way that shows he hasn t lost his wit. Art thou not a seer (see-er), he asks Zadok, implying he should do his job then: see what goes on and send word by his son and Abiathar s son. One more example of David s faith in the midst of disaster is that when someone tells him that his closest advisor, Ahithophel, is among the conspirators, David doesn t just wail about this treachery. He immediately prays, Oh Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. As if in answer to this prayer, he meets another faithful advisor and friend, Hushai, who has come to pledge allegiance to David. David asks Hushai to go to Absalom s court and pretend to be loyal to the new king and a traitor to David, so that he may confound Ahitophel s advice to Absalom. So should our own heart turn to God upon hearing terrible news. No situation is so bad that God cannot put His hand of blessing on it if we free Him to do so by the faith of our prayers. Even in the midst of the worst possible circumstances, David is still showing us what it means to be a man after God s heart.

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Having A Basic Understanding of Some Old Testament Truths Part 48 Nathan Rebukes David Through Absalom Coming Into Jerusalem (II Samuel 12-15)

Having A Basic Understanding of Some Old Testament Truths Part 48 Nathan Rebukes David Through Absalom Coming Into Jerusalem (II Samuel 12-15) 1. How did David respond to the story Nathan tells him? And